Animal control officers in Anderson, S.C., thought that a barking shih tzu was stuck in a ravine. Turns out, she was there nursing and protecting a tiny abandoned kitten she had found.

Animal control officer Michelle Smith got a call about a yelping dog behind a Home Depot. She climbed down a steep embankment to find a shih tzu, tangled in a mess of briars. But she looked more closely, she realized Goldie had a friend: a tiny kitten who was nursing at the dog’s side.

Anderson County P.A.W.S. / via: facebook.com

Anderson Police Dept. / via: foxcarolina.com

Anderson Independent-Mail / via: 10news.com

“I didn’t know what to think,” Smith told Fox News 10. “I was shocked and surprised and then of course, awww.”

Anderson County P.A.W.S / via: dogster.com

Anderson County P.A.W.S. / via: facebook.com

Anderson County P.A.W.S. / via: facebook.com

“I think it would have been OK for the dog to walk down the hill,” Smith told Fox Carolina. “But it just didn’t want to leave the kitten”

Anderson Independent-Mail / via: 10news.com

Anderson County P.A.W.S. / via: facebook.com

The dog and kitten were taken to the Anderson County P.A.W.S. shelter, where they remained inseparable and the dog continued to care for the kitten as one of her own. Eventually, the pair were taken to a foster home — together, of course.